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Early built-in GPS navigation systems were a revelation—if expensive. The first-ever GPS navigation system for a production vehicle, GM's GuideStar system for the 1995 Oldsmobile Eighty Eight (pictured, below left), cost just under $2,000 and wasn't particularly accurate. Two of the most famous early models are Ford's Microsoft-based Sync, and BMW's iDrive, both of which have been heavily upgraded over the years. The latter became famous primarily for its deficiencies at its original launch in 2002, thanks to its unbelievably stubborn interface, and the fact that even normal controls like radio presets were buried in submenus.

When it came to actual GPS navigation, early built-in systems were pretty limited anyway, thanks to 2D map graphics, few catalogued points of interest, and little in the way of added features. Later systems added 3D map views and text-to-speech conversion. The latest systems, powered by either QNX or Microsoft, and found in cars like the QNX-powered 2012 Audi A8, do a much better job of tying in navigation, entertainment, and cell phone connectivity. In today's cars, it's common to pair your cell phone over Bluetooth, dial contacts with voice commands, and even stream Internet services like Pandora from your cell phone's data connection in order to listen to music over the car's stereo system.

Portable GPS and Smartphones Standalone GPS devices were another revelation. By the mid-2000s, Garmin, Mio, Navigon, Magellan, TomTom, and others flooded the market with devices across multiple price points. These devices usually ran some form of proprietary software on top of a readily available OS like Embedded Linux or Windows Embedded CE. Eventually, as the decade rolled to a close and sales began to decline, the resulting market shakeout left only Garmin, TomTom, and Magellan standing. Prices have also fallen tremendously, with solid midrange devices offering real-time traffic and lifetime map upgrades for roughly $200, and high-end models with terrain mapping and higher resolution like the Garmin nuvi 3590LMT maxing out at $400. Even better, last year's models can be found for well under $100.

So sales have begun to fall over the past few years. Several factors are contributing to the decline, but two reasons in particular stand out: Market saturation and cell phone apps. While GPS devices have received considerable upgrades over the years in functionality, most consumers bought one and just used it for years, without feeling any need to upgrade. None of the new functionality introduced in the past several years is truly necessary—just helpful, in varying degrees.

The most important changes over time relate to map data and the POI (point-of-interest) database. No one wants outdated directions if one of the listed roads are now closed, or if a better way opened up—and certainly, no one wants to search for a nearby Thai place, drive all the way there, and find out it went out of business last year and is now a Starbucks. The thing is, you can upgrade the maps in older devices for a fee, and now even newer devices often come with lifetime free map upgrades. Car manufacturers also offer map updates on a yearly basis, often on disc, but for staggeringly high prices; BMW wants $200 for a single iteration of map updates, for example.

That brings us to the second disruptor: smartphones. By the mid-2000's, you could add GPS functionality to an existing phone with a Bluetooth-enabled GPS receiver. But it wasn't long before smartphones began to come with integrated GPS—and by that I mean full-blown, voice-enabled navigation, not just the 911 emergency response system phones have had for years. TeleNav and Networks In Motion were early players on various cell phone platforms, offering voice-enabled directions for roughly $10 per month. Today's smartphone apps, such as Magellan RoadMate for the iPhone (pictured, above), offer user interfaces indistinguishable from high-end PNDs, even if the GPS in the phones themselves still isn't quite as accurate as standalone devices—yet.

The voice prompts are key. Many phones today come with free Google Maps apps, which will provide turn-by-turn navigation between two addresses, but these are impossible to use behind the wheel unless you have a passenger reading the directions out loud to you. Android phones come with voice-enabled Google Maps Navigation, which is an upgrade from the stock Google Maps icon found on most iPhones.

Jamie Lendino is the managing editor for consumer electronics and mobile at PCMag.com and has written for the site and print magazine since 2005. Previously, Jamie was the Editor In Chief of Smart Device Central, PCMag's dedicated smartphone site, for its entire three-year run from 2006 to 2009. Before PCMag, he was a contributing editor for Laptop and mediabistro.com. His writing has also appeared in the print editions of Popular Science, Electronic Musician, and Sound and Vision, as well as on CNET and ConsumerReports.org.
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